There are currently about 35,000 laundromats in the United States. Even with so many available, not everyone has experience using this service.
If this is your first time managing a laundromat, apartment, or dorm with on-site laundry, you may not be familiar with laundry room etiquette.
How can you provide a necessary service without risking complications with tenants? How can landlords encourage tenants to do their part?
Read on to learn more about laundry room rules to share with your tenants or guests.
Come Prepared
Encourage tenants to bring their laundry in a hamper, basket, or laundry bag. Trash bags are wasteful and can clutter up the space at the laundry room. It’s a good idea to write their name on the laundry bag or basket to avoid confusion with others.
Tenants should bring detergent, dryer sheets, lint balls, hangers, and anything else they might need for the laundry room. Remind tenants to bring their own coins if you have a coin laundry room. Tenants repeatedly asking others for coins or detergent can annoy their neighbors.
Keep the laundry room Clean
Picking up after yourself is one of the biggest rules of laundry room etiquette. While waiting for their clothes to wash, encourage tenants to pick up trash or sweep the floors.
Remind tenants to leave the washer lid open to signal its availability and prevent mold growth and collect their lint from the dryer before they leave. Almost 27% of house fires are caused by a dryer lint buildup.
Be Responsible with Time
Leaving clothes unattended for hours or days at a time is a big no-no. Not only does this prevent another person from using the machine, but mold and mildew on wet clothes can make the whole laundry room stink.
Encourage tenants to plan ahead on laundry day. They will generally need to clear their schedule for about two hours per load. If they decide to leave the laundry room while their clothes are still washing, they must accept the risk that clothes might be moved or stolen.
Don’t Reserve Machines
To save time, tenants might be tempted to “claim” a dryer while their clothes are still washing. This is a rude move. Washers and dryers should be available on a first-come-first-serve basis.
If another person takes the last open dryer, tenants will just have to wait for a new one to open up. Providing baskets or tables in your laundry room allows guests to remove their clothes from the washer while waiting.
Don’t Touch Other People’s Belongings
This is one of the most annoying aspects for tenants sharing a laundry room. If they can see that a dryer cycle has ended, should they remove someone else’s things?
In general, no, it’s not okay to remove someone else’s clothes from the washer or dryer. However, if a guest has waited a long time with no luck, they can carefully remove someone else’s finished laundry.
Encourage tenants to place the clothes neatly on top of a nearby washer or table. It’s a great idea for laundry rooms to have rolling carts available for setting clothes aside.
Tenants should never rummage through clothes, throw them on the floor, or place them in a dryer. They could potentially ruin someone’s delicate items by drying them.
Respect Others’ Space and Privacy
Of all laundry room rules for tenants, the biggest one is to respect others’ space and privacy. If the tenants bring children, they must behave well in the laundry room. Discourage laundry room guests from talking on the phone or watching movies out loud.
Not everyone in the laundry room is a social butterfly. Most people are there to do their laundry and leave as quickly as possible, so they may not be interested in a conversation. It’s polite for guests to read a book, put on headphones, or study while they wait.
Emphasizing Laundry Room Etiquette
Now that you are familiar with the rules of laundry room etiquette, you’re ready to climb Mt. Laundry. Providing this on-site service can boost tenant satisfaction and make your property a more desirable place to live.
Are you a property manager looking to update your on-site laundry facilities? FMB Laundry is your expert commercial laundry guide. Contact us today to learn more!